Memories of the Black Land
by Burning Ice Phoenix
Summary: Egypt thinks back to the time when his mother was still alive. Slight Greece/Egypt and Rome/Ancient Egypt.


Egypt stared out into the night sky from his bedroom window. He couldn't sleep tonight. He remembered on sleepless nights like these, there was always someone comforting him.

* * *

"Khemet. My name is Khemet." Egypt watched from the window of the palace as his mother spoke with another man. Rome, he believed his name was.

"Well, Khemet, has anyone ever told me that you're incredibly beautiful?" Rome complemented.

Khemet laughed. "Every single suitor."

Egypt hadn't known much about Rome, only that he was a strong and powerful person. A voice called from a few yards away and Rome turned to leave. "Well, I'll see you later Khemet, you can count on that." He said with a smile.

His mother smiled back, but in a somewhat sarcastic way. It was as if she already knew what might happen next.

That was the first night he couldn't sleep.

"Mama!" He called as he dragged his pillow from his room to her's. His mother was still awake. She looked very tired, an image that he's barely ever seen of her. Why hasn't he ever noticed how weak she occasionally looked? "I can't sleep, Mama."

"Can't sleep?" Khemet asked as she lifted him into her arms and moved over to her bed. "Why? Did you do anything wrong? You're usually such a sound sleeper."

Egypt shook his head. "No. I didn't do anything wrong..." He thought in silence for a moment. "...I feel uneasy." He admitted. "That person you were talking to. He makes me feel uneasy."

"Person? Oh, you mean Rome?" Khemet let out a small, amused smile. "Relax. The New Kingdom of Egypt is amazing and won't ever end." She assured him. That moment of tiredness that Egypt had seen had disappeared.

"...Alright Mama." Egypt said as she placed him on the ground again, telling him to go back to his room to sleep. He shook his head. "I don't want to sleep alone, Mama! Can I sleep with you tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"But Egypt, you're already a big boy. You can sleep by yourself."

Egypt pouted and gave her a watery-eyed look. "...Ok. Just tonight." She said before picking up the now smiling boy and placing him next to her in bed. "Good night, Gupta." She whispered.

* * *

The next time Rome had come, it was not as peaceful or joyful. "Welcome to my home, Aegyptus." Rome said as he led them throughout his palace.

"My name is Khemet." She retorted sharply, glaring at the man who had just conquered her land. Egypt clung tightly to the dress of his mother.

Rome laughed, but it wasn't in a cruel way. It sounded rather jovial to Egypt, actually. There was no hidden threat in it. "The time of The New Kingdom is long over. You can't be Khemet anymore."

Khemet, now Aegyptus, glared back.

"Don't look at me that way!" Rome said with a frown. "Besides that... I want to prove that you're mine. What better way to say so than to rename you?"

"I won't be 'yours' every empire comes to an end one day." She growled. She was an example already.

"It would be a long time before that happens!" Rome said with another powerful bout of laughter. "We still have a lot of time." He stopped and paused for a moment. Looking at Aegyptus again, he noticed Egypt. "...I've been meaning to ask. Who is he? He's been following you around."

"He's my son." Aegyptus stated.

Rome looked surprised at this information. "...I see. Well, there's another boy here. He's also about his age. Maybe they can play together sometime." He suggested.

"Maybe." She answered.

Rome nodded and continued a little further before stopping. "Well, here's your room. If there's anything you need, I'm in the first room down the hall."

"And the most luxurious, I'll bet." Aegyptus said with a sneer. "Come on Egypt." She ushered her son into the room and slammed the door before Rome could say anything.

Egypt tossed and turned in his own bed that night unable to get used to the new room. His mother had already fallen asleep herself. "Mama! I can't sleep!" He said softly as he tugged on his mother's clothes to wake her up.

Aegyptus woke up with a grunt and stared at Egypt. "Why not?" She mumbled sleepily.

"The bed's uncomfortable. Can I sleep with you?"

Aegytus was silent for a moment. "Just for tonight. You'll have to get used to sleeping here eventually."

Egypt nodded with a slight smile, one that he barely shows to anyone else, before climbing up the bed to sleep next to her.

* * *

It had been two years of staying with Rome now. And Egypt watched with shocked eyes from the crack of the door outside Aegyptus's room. Was she making out with Rome? Egypt had remembered that his mother had told him that it was an activity that only people who really liked each other would do. Did she really like him now?

Frightened and confused, he took a few steps back before running down the hall. He didn't know what to think. Hadn't his mother dislike Rome for conquering them and taking their land?

His mother had told him not to leave their area of the palace. But he had forgotten that as he reached the giant pond within the palace. Looking past the lily pads and reeds he saw someone sitting on the other side of the pond. It was a boy playing with a cat.

He sat unmoving as Egypt stared. He was starting to wonder if the boy was even awake. Slowly, he walked around the large pond, knowing that he was walking into territory that wasn't his mother's now. These were the other provinces of Rome.

He stopped a few feet in front of the boy and waited for him to notice him.

But the boy didn't move. Egypt wasn't sure if he really didn't notice him or was just ignoring him.

In the end, it was the cat that noticed and moved first. The cat jumped out of the boy's hands and into Egypt's.

"Kitty!" The boy called out in surprise. Then he saw Egypt. "Oh. Hello. ...Who are you?"

The boy had a sleepy gaze and Egypt wondered if he was just going to fall asleep randomly.

"Egypt." He answered as he placed the cat down.

"Oh. Where are you from?"

"Across the lake."

"I see. My name is Greece. I'm the son of Hellas." Greece picked up his cat again and started stroking its fur. "Do you want to play together?"

"What's there to play?" Egypt hadn't played with any other kids in a long while. Not since coming to this palace.

"There's lots to play. There are lots of animals here too. Like this kitty." He said before taking a few steps away from the pond and down another hallway. "Come with me, let's play tag! Just don't let Ottoman catch you! He's a creepy bastard."

Egypt quickly nodded. "Alright, start running on the count of ten!" Greece said before he started counting.

* * *

"Where were you today? Look at you, you're all muddy!" Aegyptus scolded as she saw her son in front of the doorway to their room.

"Sorry Mama." Egypt said quietly. "I went to play."

"Play? Where?"

Egypt stayed quiet, knowing that he had disobeyed his mother's rules about staying in their portion of the palace.

Aegyptus sighed. "Alright, don't worry about it, go inside and take a bath."

* * *

The death of Rome threw the household into a panic. What shocked everyone more was the one who had killed him. Germania. Wasn't he one of Rome's closest friends? At that time, Egypt really felt that you couldn't trust anyone in this world.

"Why don't you stay with me?" Byzantine offered in the midst of the panic. "I'll treat you better than Rome did."

Aegyptus stared at her for a moment before answering. "I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm not the empire I used to be."

Egypt couldn't believe his mother's words, but it was true. He had seen her try to read and write her own hieroglyphics and not succeeding.

The passing of years were troubling for Egypt. His mother seemed to grow weaker as did Byzantine. The two women did not agree much. Differences in culture and religion did not help at all. It was better than the way Rome treated her. She had kept that promise, but not by that much.

And it was because of these disagreements that when Persia came, Aegyptus was ready to leave willingly. Of course, Byzantine did not let that pass.

Byzantine did not manage to keep Aegyptus when the Arab nations invaded. And along with the death of the Byzantine empire was the death of his own mother. "Mama! Mama!" He had cried, trying to wake his mother. But it had all came to an end and he had changed to much to be like his mother. He stared up at the other Muslim nations that had surrounded him. He had never grew once since the time Rome had visited them for the first time. He never had any land until now.

For the first time ever, he didn't have Aegyptus there to comfort him when he couldn't sleep.

* * *

He's had many sleepless nights since then. Every time there was a war. Each time he thought England and France did something unfairly. Each time he gets into a fight with Israel.

Tonight wasn't really much of a difference as he sat outside of his house on the porch. He had chose a house that wasn't too far away from what was left of his mother. The pyramids. His mother was much of a mystery to many people around the world and people try to discover as much as possible about her.

They would ask him questions too, but he wouldn't answer. Those were his mother's secrets and he wasn't about to tell of them.

"You can't sleep?" A voice asked from behind him. It was the boy from the other side of the pond. He had come to stay for the night after his house got wrecked from another recent fight with Turkey.

Egypt shook his head.

"Did you fight with anyone?" Greece asked with a yawn.

Egypt shook his head again and pointed at the pyramids.

"Oh." He said as he stroked his cat in silence.

For the two that lost their mothers at nearly the same time, no words were needed.

* * *

Notes...

The Black Land - Ancient Egypt was known as 'The Black Land' because the River gave them life. The desert around them was called 'The Red Land'

Khemet - The name of the Ancient Egyptian Nation by their native language.

Aegyptus - Name of the Roman provinance of Egypt.

Hellas - Name of Ancient Greece by their native language. (I didn't use Grecia because that would be slightly confusing with young Greece)

Byzantine - Greece's mother was also listed as to represent The Byzantine Empire. So I went with the fact that after Rome died, Hellas changed her name to Byzantine. The Byzantine Empire had control of Aegyptus. Ancient Egyptian culture has also nearly competely disappeared at this time.

Arab Invasion - The Arab nations defeated The Byzantine Empire and that's where I would believe Ancient Egypt would've died since the current Egypt represents the 'Arab Republic of Egypt'.

* * *

**De-Anon from Kink Meme.**


End file.
